Lucrative Fine Art

A connoisseur may consider art a leisurely hobby, but it is a lucrative business for one unusual company that has opened a new gallery in Beverly Hills.

Fine Art Acquisitions Ltd., a publicly held, New York-based firm, predicts that its new Dyansen Gallery on Rodeo Drive will be “the crown jewel” of the six Dyansen art galleries and gross more than $2 million during its first year of operation.

“We think Southern California is a good market,” said Harris Shapiro, a former investment banker who now serves as president and chairman of Fine Art Acquisitions. “And the Beverly Hills gallery is in the single best location in the United States” because of the surrounding affluence.

Although marketing and brokering fine art may seem an unusual enterprise for a publicly held firm, there are several such companies, including Circle Fine Art Corp. and Decor Corp.

However, Fine Art Acquisitions claims to be the fastest growing of the concerns. Last year, the company was listed No. 23 on Inc. magazine’s list of the 100 fastest-growing companies, with a compound annual sales increase of 174% between 1980 and 1984.

In the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 1985, the company had net income of $500,000 on revenue of $11.3 million.

Fine Art Acquisitions started in April, 1980. It markets original paintings, sculptures, serigraphs and posters to about 250 of the nation’s estimated 10,000 art galleries and through its company-owned Dyansen galleries. Art is priced from $425 to $20,000.

However, company-owned galleries also carry some mass-appeal merchandise such as greeting cards, art books, Erte and Picasso scarfs and other collectibles.